Ep. 38: The Time to Erase Takeru
is the thirty-eighth episode of Hikari Sentai Maskman. Synopsis Igam devises a plan to go back in time and kill Takeru when he's little, thereby creating a time paradox. The Maskman must stop this plan, while getting to see how Takeru is like when he is a kid. Plot The episode begins with Takeru showing his karate skills by breaking thick blocks being held by his friends. His friends praises his karate skills, in which Takeru starts boasting on how he started karate from child age because he just wanted to, and that he's a popular, well-behaving and handsome boy which makes everyone at his age, practically a model student. The team buys the information well. Meanwhile, at the Tube Kingdom, Igam reveals an insidious plan to Emperor Zeba, which is approved. The Maskman is sent to a certain cave where they find Igam and Fu-Min along with a new monster, Time Doggler, trying to open a certain hole in there. A fight breaks out and at one point, Red Mask shot the Time Doggler in the eye, causing it to fully open the hole and suck the Maskman, the monster, Igam and Fu-Min inside. The team stumbles into an open field and later sees a boy being chased by Igam and Fu-Min. In shock, Takeru deduces that the boy is his past self when he's a child. The team comes to a realization that if Igam and Fu-Min kill the boy, then Takeru will vanish due to time paradox. Thus, Takeru, Kenta and Akira block Igam and Fu-Min's advance while Haruka and Momoko take the little Takeru into safety. However, much to their chargin, little Takeru turns out to be a naughty brat that does not behave well, flipping the women's skirts and calls them 'hags', an extreme contrast to what Takeru described about himself. Takeru is embarrassed at this his little secret being discovered, but the embarrassment is interrupted when Time Doggler reveal itself again, and when fighting, little Takeru escapes. The team decides to follow and protect him, but doesn't know where he goes. Takeru, knowing that this time was an important part of his life, knows exactly where little Takeru went. Little Takeru actually escapes to the port, trying to run away from Japan. From there, Takeru blocks his path and encouraged him to be brave and face any challenges to become a man, and reveals that he's the future self of the little Takeru. While the latter does not buy it, Igam, Fu-Min and Time Doggler arrive to try and kill little Takeru. Fortunately the Maskmen arrive in time and as they transform, little Takeru becomes impressed at what he'll become. After figuring out how to go back in time, the Maskman shoots Time Doggler on the eye again, bringing them back to the present time, where they eventually obliterates Time Doggler with the Jet Cannon, and later with the Great Five for its enlarged form. In the past, little Takeru realized that he is about to run away, but his future self inspires him with his advice that he decided not to run away from any challenge and felt better and able to take on anything. In the present, Takeru wishes his past self good luck and as they exit the cavern, the rest of the Maskman mock him for lying to them about his past and caught red-handed about what he really was like in the past, in which Takeru sheepishly remarks that after that he became a good boy like he told. The team doesn't seem to buy it. Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : *Azuma: * : * : * : * : * : * : Guest Cast *Takeru (Child): Notes *During one of boy Takeru's flashbacks, he imagines himself as Kikaider; the original Kikaider tokusatsu aired in 1972, which would have been known to Takeru if this episode occurs in 1974 (13 years before the events of the series). **Considering Kikaider's cameo in J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai (1977) and (2011), Takeru may well have been imitating a real life superhero in the reality of Maskman, just as numerous child characters have played as the eponymous heroes in-universe of Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. *In the Philippine Dub, young Takeru's voice actor is Geraldine Oca also voices Mika Koizumi in Choudenshi Bioman. DVD releases Hikari Sentai Maskman Volume 4 features episodes 31-40. http://www.toei-video.co.jp/DVD/sp21/maskman.html References Category:Hikari Sentai Maskman Category:Sentai episodes Category:Written by Hirohisa Soda